Church thrift shop burglarized twice in a month

MELBOURNE, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - A church thrift shop serving Brevard County has twiced been burglarized in the last month.  Now, the church is having to spend money on added security.

It looks like a carport.  There’s a roof over the shelves.  It's convenient for people who work late and want to donate clothes, housewares and toys to Angels in the Attic. Affiliated with the Saint Pauls Anglican Church of Melbourne, the staff of volunteers keeps it tidy.  But a burglary suspect made a mess of the place after tearing through the inventory, taking what looked good, and ransacking the rest.

"It was very upsetting when we came in, but afterwords the sheriff came, we made our report and then we started cleaning up," said Cheryl Unterburger, the thrift store manager, "and unfortunately we will have to put a gate across here so people can’t get in."

The church will now put up a fence, which means no more late-night donations, unless there’s someone to take them. 

"In one sense, just being on TV will broaden our reach, so that we can help more people," said Father Brian Oldfield.  "God brings good out of evil, and this is certainly one thing that could happen from it."

The Brevard County Sheriff's Office is investigating.